The 7th session of the Codex alimentarius Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH7), chaired by India, concluded its work on several important new add-ons to existing and new standards on small cardamon; allspice, juniper berry and star anise; and turmeric. It advanced the work on vanilla, still subject to additional inter-sessional work until the
(Food) Safety
Codex alimentarius: historical 46th meeting (CAC46) while celebrating its 60th anniversary
This article was published in World Food Regulation Review, January 2024, p. 25-34.
While celebrating its 60th anniversary, the 46th CAC meeting has seen several historical decisions taken.
First and foremost, it has closed the long-standing controversy about Zilpaterol hydrochloride by adopting through two successive votes by advancing and adopting the proposed maximum…
Aspartame safety review by the WHO: a short story about a tempest in a teapot…
This article was published in World Food Regulation Review, August 2023 Issue, Vol. 33, Number 3.
On July 14, 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the results of the dual review of the well-known sugar-substitute aspartame by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and the International Agency for Research on…
European Commission Adopts Proposal on Regulation of New Genomic Techniques
Today, the European Commission adopted its proposal for a regulation on plants obtained by certain new genomic techniques (targeted mutagenesis and cisgenesis) (‘NGTs’) and derived food and feed products.
NGTs permit more targeted genetic changes than conventional breeding or traditional genomic techniques involving the introduction of genetic material from a non-crossable species, permitting rapid development…
New Guidance for Management of Biological Foodborne Outbreaks, and Identification of CCPs
The 52nd session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH), chaired by the USA, was held virtually in early March 2022.
During this session, the CCFH52 reported that it finalized its work on:
- a new Guidance for the Management of Biological Foodborne Outbreaks; and on,
- a decision-tree to guide food business operators and countries
…
Towards a GPS Regulation
On 30 June 2021, the European Commission published the outcome of its public consultation and finally approved proposed text for a revision of the General Product Safety Directives (GSPD). The proposal’s aim is to repeal the two existing Directives, 87/357/EEC and 2001/95/EC, and form an EU Regulation directly applicable to all EU Member States. The…
The food safety aspects of edible insects
Recently growing concerns about the environmental effects of food production has led to an interest in the possibility of using insects as a viable nutrient source in both human diets and animal feed (due to the low carbon, water and ecological footprints associated with insect farming and edible insects can be a good source of…
How safe is CBD?
The European Court of Justice had a progressive reading last November of the two international reference texts for CBD: the 1971 United Nations Convention on psychotropic substances and the United Nations Convention of 1961 on narcotics. It was concluded that CBD does not behave, in principle as a psychotropic drug and in the current state…
The Lactalis case: continuation and end
It’s well known that the Lactalis group attacked the French initiative that required the origin of milk to be included on labels. In particular, they noted it would be challenging to balance French labelling requirements with the sometimes-unclear INCO regulations.
While EU regulations harmonize the compulsory indication of the country of origin or the…
How the EU is dealing with illegal food sold online during the COVID outbreak
This article was first published at IHS Markit (subscription required), 3 September 2020
The internet has become a platform for selling food across the globe. This phenomenon has even increased with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, some malevolent operators use the current crisis as a business opportunity and have freed themselves from the EU food legislation.…